The Underground of Happiness

The first instalment of my favourite music of 2018. Categories are a bit arbitrary as always. Parts 2 and 3 to follow. Enjoy. Playlist Django Django – In your beat (Because Music) De Lux – 875 dollars (Innovative Leisure) Tune-Yards – Heart attack (4AD) Kamasi Washington – The Space Traveller’s Lullaby (Young Turks) Todd Tobias & Combo Qasam – Do the Massabu (Tiny Room/Hidden Shoal) Khruangbin – Maria tambien (Dead Oceans) Richard Swift – Broken finger blues (Secretly Canadian) Terry – The whip (Upset The Rhythm) Gulp – Claudia (E.L.K Records) Blue Orchids – Get Bramah (Tiny Global Productions) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – When (Full Time Hobby) Jessica Pratt – This time around (Mexican Summer) Steve Gunn – New moon (Matador) Soccer 96 – Harmonious Monk (Slowfoot Records) Orchestra of Spheres – Koudede (Fire) Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne – Exit (Leaf) Camera – Super 8 (Bureau B) Snapped Ankles – Drink and glide (Leaf) Sz...

A review of the year so far in music. Some great sounds in 2018. Enjoy. Playlist 489 - Best of 2018, Jan-July Kacy & Clayton – The siren’s song (New West Records) Kacey Johansing – The hiding (Night Bloom Records/Melodic) Jessica Risker – Anyway when I look in your eyes (Western Vinyl) Jim Ghedi – Sloade Lane (Basin Rock Records) Szun Waves – Constellation (The Leaf Label) Spindle Ensemble – Moonbow (Adderwell Music) Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne – Exit (The Leaf Label) Get Well Soon – Martyrs (City Slang) Caroline Says – First song (Western Vinyl) The Saxophones – Aloha (Full Time Hobby) Jack Hayter – At Crossness Pumping Station (Gare du Nord) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Less than positive (Full Time Hobby) Jennifer Castle – Texas (Paradise of Bachelors) Kamasi Washington – The Space Traveller’s Lullaby (Young Turks) Django Django – In your beat (Because Music) De Lux – 875 dollars (Innovative Leisure) BOYTOY – Mary Anne (Stolen Body ...

It’s been a little while since we had a dance set on the show. We had a good mini set in the middle this week. Charlotte Gainsbourg hooking up with SebastiAn to wonderful French disco effect. De Lux with the great sunbaked LA disco full of nagging synth lines. And SlowPlaceLikeHome with some lovely ambient electronica from the Atlantic north west (Donegal). Also another beautiful cut from the new Spindle Ensemble album. Light as air. The Sea & Cake giving vent to wonderful breezy jazz pop. Jon Brion from the Lady Bird OST making gorgeous quixotic music for pictures involving woodwind. And Django Django making music to make people who don’t know how to dance dance. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 476 Tues Jan 30 2018 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm...

Another winning slice of baked sunshine soul from the LA duo. Once again the bouncy and deceptively friendly backbeat camouflages serious intent much like Talking Heads once did with ‘Once in a lifetime’. In this case both the need to disco and the internal struggle showcased in the highly entertaining video. I especially love the whining one note synth line which remains consistent and true as things clatter all around it. A great way to start the year.

That time of year again when we take stock. It's good to take stock, be thankful for what you have, mourn what you miss, make plans for the future, rekindle memories. Musical memories are obviously pretty specific, conjuring up a place, a time, the people you were with, or maybe just how the music made you feel. It can even seem like music transports us back to a more innocent time. Last January really does seem like a long time ago and some of this list dates back that far. Musical memories are always personal and often completely private. This list is the first part of a four-part (probably) series. I'm a bit of a hoarder so lists tend to be long. But everything here is treasured by me. I'm calling it Kosmische/Instrumental/Soundtrack/Jazz/Dance . As usual, tags are somewhat arbitrary but let's go with those. And the tunes are in no particular order. I'm aiming for the second part of the review sometime between Christmas and New Year's if you're a di...

A genius turn from the LA duo which takes two crucial elements of the vintage Talking Heads sound and fuses them with an authentic 21st century anxiety. Those elements are the relentless pulse bass of Tina Weymouth. And the declamatory, talking-loudly-to-myself vocals of David Byrne. World War 4. US Civil War 2024. No money. Everything is free. They suggest a scenario in which dancing to a four to the floor disco beat can alleviate this state of affairs. Not a solution maybe but a way to soothe your mind and body. You might even feel like embracing an uncertain future if the soundtrack is as brilliant as this.